Full Circle (18 page)

“Talked to her last night. She said the realtor had called you about a buyer, so I thought she might—”

“What? How does she know that?”

Liam shrugged. “I figured you told her.”

“No, I haven’t talked to her at all since Friday at work, before she left. I didn’t want to get her hopes up so I didn’t say…oh my God.”

“You don’t think she’s the buyer? Elisa doesn’t have that kind of money.”

Justin dropped his phone. “Yes, she does.”

Liam gaped. She was sitting on a pile of money that big, and she worried about not impressing anyone? What was she doing at the clinic’s front desk? She could have gone to school full-time, or renovated her house—hell, it wasn’t even hers. She was living in her parents’ house when she could have bought a brand new one. Plus, hadn’t she implied that she hated answering that phone? Didn’t it remind her that she was “only” a receptionist, not a vet?

“You’re not serious. Why has she been working all this time?”

“She didn’t want anybody to know. She was saving all the money to leave town.” He picked up the phone and stuffed it in his pocket. “She got a bunch of money from her ex-boyfriend’s parents. It’s a long story. And she’s been saving every dime.”

Wow. Justin didn’t seem to know anything about Liam’s connection to Elisa’s past. He’d let Elisa explain that one, preferably after he was long gone, because Justin looked murderous at the mention of the ex-boyfriend. Brett’s parents had been filthy rich, and it sounded like they’d been in the camp of rotten people as well.

“I can’t let her do this,” Justin continued. “I know she belongs here, but she worked a long time to leave and she’s been through a lot. Damn, if going away is what she wants to do, I shouldn’t have made her feel bad about it.”

Liam shouldn’t have, either. He had no idea she’d been holding on to a windfall in anticipation of the moment she would move. Regret washed over him. Who was he to tell her how to live her life? Maybe he should have told her something that was his business. Like how much he loved her and wanted her to be happy.

He exchanged a look with Justin. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Justin asked.

“I’ll drive.”

They jumped into Liam’s car and sped down the street to Elisa’s house.

“She’s not home.” Justin raised his hands in the air. “Where would she be?”

“Back at work?” Liam guessed.

“We would have passed her car on the way over here.”

“We have to find her before she drops off that check. What’s she going to do if she doesn’t go to Nashville?”

“I have no idea.”

Justin’s cell phone announced a call from Laura, and after a few moments, he clapped the phone shut and turned to Liam. “There’s our answer. She’s at the hospital with Laura.”

“Let’s go.” He turned the car around and headed into Austin, hoping they could catch Elisa before it was too late to reverse a decision she’d regret forever.

Why had he made her feel guilty? They had made love, but that didn’t give him the right to assume he knew what was best for her. If she had been planning her move out of state for that many years, then Nashville was where she needed to be. And he’d gone and made her feel selfish, and she’d spent her entire savings on the clinic.

Even if she forgave him, he didn’t know if he ever would.

After long moments of agonizing rush-hour traffic, they made it to the hospital and ran right into the two women in the main lobby.

“Hey, guys!” Laura greeted them. “What are you doing here? We just saw Caleb and he looks great. The doctor said he’s well on his way to coming home. We’re going to get some coffee, do you want to join us?”

Justin put his arm around Laura then narrowed his eyes at his sister. “There’s something we need to discuss first. Isn’t that right, anonymous buyer?”

Elisa’s eyes widened. Justin had been right about her. She refused to look at either of them.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she mumbled in a tone that made it obvious she did.

“Really? So you know nothing about the fact that someone plans to hand the realtor a check for the down payment on that building today. You know nothing about the fact that if the sale goes through, we don’t have to close the clinic. You, Elisa, have no information about this situation.”

Laura’s mouth had dropped open after Justin’s first sentence, and she grabbed him in a warm embrace. “Really? That’s wonderful news!”

“You need to get the money back,” he said when his wife released him. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but you’ll be miserable if you stay here.”

Elisa blinked. She shook her head and pulled her keys from her purse. “I’m sorry, Laura, I have to go. I don’t know what any of you are talking about.” She shot past them and through the automatic doors of the hospital’s entrance, disappearing into the parking lot.

Liam let her go. He would see her again soon enough. After all the time he’d spent convincing her to stay, now he had to turn around and tell her she needed to leave.

And then he would have to deal with her absence.

Elisa sat on her bedroom floor between the boxes she’d packed over the past few weeks in anticipation of going to Nashville. She didn’t know what would be worse—if she had to turn around and unpack them, or if Justin refused the money and she’d have to leave after all.

She looked at her copy of the cashier’s check and the dollar amount that was on it. That money had been saved for her new life in another city. It would have paid travel expenses, rent and all of her bills during the internship and until she got a paying job.

Now, it was going to save Justin, Laura and Liam. She knew without a doubt that she had made the right decision—a decision that would provide a better future for everyone, including herself. Running to Rainbow’s rescue in the middle of street, helping Liam tend to her injuries, and then watching her wake up and later, walk again, had filled Elisa with more pride than any office job could ever provide.

Justin and Liam were right. Her future was her decision. Not Brett’s, not Mrs. Dale’s or any of the other women in town who talked trash about her. She wanted to be a vet—right here in Windy Flats, where she could be with her family and Liam. If the clinic got back on its feet, he wouldn’t have to go anywhere.

Somehow, they would make everyone see what a wonderful man he was—not at all the criminal that horrible girl had made him out to be. Besides, the animals were going to get sick and hurt, and Justin’s place was the only vet clinic for miles in any direction. Eventually, the clients would cave and let Liam do his job. She was sure of it.

Unless, of course, Justin refused her offer. She was just providing the money—she wanted
his
name on the title. No one deserved to own that property more than he did.

A soft rap sounded on her door. She jumped when she saw Liam standing in her doorway.

“How did you get in here?”

He dangled a key in front of him. “You never took your spare back.”

Any argument she might have given him deflated in the face of her sadness. She had
not
wanted Justin to find out she’d written the check. But just as she’d expected, he wouldn’t accept the money now that he knew it was from her. He’d go right to Barry and refuse to sign the sale contract.

She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I guess I’ll be leaving after all.”

“So it was you.”

“Fine. It was me. Big deal.” She stood and put her hands on her hips.

“It’s a very big deal.” Liam crossed the room and took her arms, his gaze full of pride. “A huge deal.”

At least someone appreciated her effort. Too bad it wasn’t the person making the ultimate decision.

“Why can’t he just take the damn money?” she cried. “I’m doing this for him! And for Laura and the boys…and you.”

Liam’s eyebrows went up. “Me? Oh sweetheart, you can’t do anything for me. My house sold. I have to go, regardless.”

She stared at him, her stomach turning. “You sold your house? But if Justin isn’t having financial problems anymore, he doesn’t have to let you go.”

“He still needs clients. If they don’t want to see me, I can’t do any good here.”

“But—”

“Elisa, that’s a lot of money. If that check clears, you’re giving up your whole life, everything you’ve been planning for so many years. Are you ready for that?”

“I’m not giving up anything. The clinic is my life.
You
are my life. I don’t want to go anywhere.”

His eyes closed briefly, and he gave her a sad smile. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.”

“Then stay with me. I love you.” Her breath caught on that sentence. She hadn’t planned to say it, hadn’t said it since the early months of her relationship with Brett. Then, she was eighteen years old and had confused the word with lust. Now, she’d never been so sure of anything, so aware of how much her heart ached for Liam.

But her admission seemed to upset him. He pulled her against him and locked his arms around her, his lips to her hair. “You don’t need me anymore.”

She jolted, taking a step back. She wanted to believe he hadn’t said that, but she’d heard it plain as day. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Look, Justin and I have been trying to tell you what to do, what we think is best for you, when we really should have butted out and let you run your own life. And now that’s what you’re doing. You’re strong.”

“And…what? I don’t need you to protect me anymore, so off you go? What am I, your pet project?”

He didn’t seem to hear her. “We’ll always be connected, Elisa. We have our baby, and some very good memories.”

Yeah, memories of letting down her guard and trusting him with her body, heart and soul—several times over—only to find out he hadn’t loved her at all. He’d been playing bodyguard. Just like in school.

“Even if I could stay, our relationship would never work here,” Liam continued, like he was ticking off a top ten list of excuses he could use to leave her. “Your own brother doesn’t even know we have a history. Do you want to hide the past forever? Constantly worry if the next rumor will put the clinic out of business?”

He had a point there. But the rest of it was garbage.

“I’d ask you to go with me to Dallas, but given what you’ve done for the clinic, I assume you no longer want to leave. Am I right?”

He touched her cheek, and her heart broke. She nodded. He was right. She didn’t want a big city, never really had. She’d wanted love and happiness and had looked in the wrong place. Now, just when their future in Windy Flats had taken detailed form in her mind, she had to somehow dissolve the image and accept that Liam would never see her as anything but a person he had to comfort or protect.

“Fine. Since you’re always worried about what’s best for me, make sure you let Justin know that if he doesn’t take that money, it’s going to charity. You want me to fend for myself, you got it.”

Chapter Thirteen

Liam lingered in the doorframe between the hallway and the waiting room while Elisa packed her office supplies into a cardboard box to make room for Alexis at the reception desk. His heart surged with pride. It wouldn’t be long before she treated the animals herself instead of scheduling Justin’s appointments over the phone. She had been able to transfer a lot of her classes to her new degree plan, and in two years, she would be a vet.

Too bad he wouldn’t be there to see it.

Finally, it was closing day—the day Justin would claim ownership of the property where he’d built his life for the past decade. It had been a long, crazy three weeks, while Justin waited for the sale paperwork to clear at the same time Liam dealt with finalizing the contract on his house. On top of that, Caleb had come home from the hospital this morning. It was amazing to watch everything fall into place.

Thank God for Brett and his superficial parents…and the baby Liam had made with Elisa. That money had saved the clinic and everyone who worked there. He could tell by the cloudless sky that their daughter was happy. And his mom—what would she think of all this? Would she stand by his decision, or lecture him for giving up the best thing that ever happened to him?

“I bet Justin is thrilled to see this day,” he said, standing beside Elisa.

She nodded. “I can imagine. You’re both crazy if you thought I was falling for that ‘you can’t do this’ lecture. I know what he wants.”

“I sure will miss this place.”

Sadness filled his chest. After today, he wouldn’t return to the clinic. He didn’t have much choice but to leave when clients still refused to see him. He guessed that Elisa wouldn’t have the same problem, because by the time she earned her license to practice, he would be a distant memory to the town gossipers. And maybe to Elisa.

She turned to look at him but didn’t move closer. Despite the way he yearned to hold her, they had made an unspoken decision get used to being friends—without benefits.

“We’re going to miss you too. You sure you don’t want to stay?”

“I can’t. My buyer is moving in next week. Besides, my friend in Dallas is expecting me. Two doctors running around this place will be enough, don’t you think?”

Elisa smiled, her features filled with genuine happiness that at last she was pursuing a dream she thought she’d lost. He was glad he’d played some part in getting her back on the right track…but not so glad he had made himself out to be little more than her helper. Clearly, she had been insulted by that conversation. She hadn’t touched him since, hadn’t said another affectionate word. In fact, he hadn’t seen her outside of the clinic at all since the day she’d told him she loved him.

Loved
him. Why couldn’t he believe that? Why hadn’t he said it back when he knew damn well it was the way he felt about her?

The bell over the front door rang. Justin entered, accompanied by Laura and a car seat—occupied by a tiny, sleeping baby boy.

Elisa gasped and ran to Laura’s side, bending to coo over Caleb. “Hey there, precious,” she said, touching the little blue blanket that covered most of his body. “Oh, he is just adorable!”

“You want to hold him?” Laura asked.

Elisa nodded. She moved the blankets aside and undid the safety belt, then lifted Caleb from the seat and cradled him against her chest. One of his hands moved, and then he was sound asleep again.